Pork and Chive Dumplings

These dumplings are the most succulent weve ever had. The secret is in the quality of the meat: Reusing uses locally raised heritage breeds such as Berkshire or Ossabaw, but any free-range pork will have enough fat and flavor to make a difference.

Preparation

Combine all ingredients (except cilantro stems, chives, and wrappers) in a large bowl, then stir in cilantro stems and chives. Set bowl in a larger bowl of ice to keep chilled while forming dumplings.

Place a slightly rounded teaspoon of filling in center of a wrapper and moisten area around filling with water. Fold in half to form a crescent and press to seal. Moisten one corner and bring corners together, pressing them, to form a tortellini-shaped dumpling. Repeat with remaining filling and wrappers.

Cook dumplings in a large pot of gently simmering water until
pork is just cooked, about 3 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a platter.

Cooks note:
Dumplings can be formed (but not cooked) 2 hours ahead and chilled; or 1 month ahead and frozen on a tray, then transferred to a freezer bag. Cook frozen dumplings in 3 or 4 batches, 7 to 8 minutes per batch.

Recent Review

Made these tonight and wished I'd made them ages ago! Super easy, pretty quick and except for the ground pork everything else was on hand. Served with veggie fried rice and an Asian cuke & carrot salad. Since the smallest quantity of ground pork I could get was a pound, I doubled the recipe, cooked about half of the dumplings and am now freezing the rest for future use. They probably won't last more than a few days as they were so tasty. As these are just about bite-size they would be excellent as a passed appetizer at a party - either on those little ceramic Asian soup spoons or maybe with a decorative pick inserted, with a dipping bowl on the side.